20 Categories, 20 Questions Trivia Quiz

Answer: Aasvogel

An aasvogel is a south African vulture. The names for these first three entries are all derived from the Dutch language. The first plant name in the OED is Aaron's beard, another name for rose of Sharon (hypericum calycinum). Both names are biblical references.

Answer: Brave New World

'Brave New World', a novel describing a dystopian future, was authored by Aldous Huxley. Human beings have reached perfect happiness in this novel, partially as a result of 'soma', a drug that stimulates the brain's pleasure centers. No soma for me, thanks!

Answer: Beethoven

John Hughes got writing credit for the first four Beethoven films, a series which shockingly featured a fifth segment in 2003! John Hughes' films of the 1980s, including 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off', 'The Breakfast Club', 'Weird Science' and 'Sixteen Candles', resonated strongly with high school kids of that era.

Answer: Ack!

Bill the Cat, who apparently received a lobotomy at some point in his storied past, frequently could be heard uttering the profound 'Ack!', followed by the equally deep expression 'Pffft!' In the comic strip 'Bloom County', Bill the Cat ran for president of the United States, sang lead vocals for a heavy metal band called 'Deathtongue' (aka Billy and the Boingers) and died, only to be reborn as a clone.

Answer: Chopper

One book in the series, called 'The Tin Woodman of Oz', describes the title character's origin. He started off life as a munchkin, but lost his body parts one by one in axe-cutting 'accidents' (in reality, The Wicked Witch of the East was behind his unfortunate series of woodcutting mishaps!)

Answer: Solitaire

The word 'solitaire' comes from the Latin 'solus', meaning 'alone'. Solitaire is also the term for a series of frustrating card games that can be played by a single person.

Answer: Death Valley

Lake Manly existed in what is now Death Valley during and after the last ice age. Nowadays, water doesn't last long in Death Valley, which often has the hottest temperatures in the United States. The website at the following link provides a fun view of what Lake Manly might have looked like: http://www.deathvalleyphoto.com/pages/lake%20Manly.htm

Answer: Pompey

The Rubicon is a small river in north Italy, marking traditionally the boundary between Roman and Gallic territory. Nowadays, there is a second Rubicon River, to be found in central California!

Answer: Euchre

In Euchre, the bid goes around the table until a player 'orders up' a trump suit. The jack of that trump suit becomes the 'right bower', which beats all other cards in game play. The 'left bower' is the jack of the other, same-colored suit. So, for example, if spades is selected as trump, the right bower would be the jack of spades, and the left bower would be the jack of clubs.

Answer: Prado

These two paintings alone, Velazquez's masterwork, which includes members of the Spanish royal family along with his self-portrait, and Bosch's masterwork, which shows a surrealistic vision unequalled until the 20th century, make the Prado a must see for any museum hopper! To see these paintings, you must sojourn in Madrid, Spain's capital.

Answer: Linguistics

In the play, Higgins makes a bet with Colonel Pickering that he can train Eliza Doolittle to become a proper lady in six months. Does he succeed? Find out by reading the play! (Or you can take the easy way out and watch 'My Fair Lady', a film based on the play.)

Answer: Henry Fonda

One of the classic films of all time, 'Twelve Angry Men' features a total of only 12 credited actors, all jurors who are deliberating a case. At the end, we learn that the Henry Fonda character is named Davis.

Answer: Charles Gounod

The traditional Faust legend has been covered in music and literature by such notables as Goethe, Marlowe, and Berlioz, among others. I recommend any one of them for your consumption.

Answer: George Hegel

Hegel's dialectical method influenced Karl Marx's thinking about history and society. Marx was not old enough to enjoy a Hegel lecture first hand, but he learnt of Hegel's ideas from the Hegel disciples that still populated the University of Berlin when he arrived there.

Answer: Sikhism

The term 'gurdwara' is derived ultimately from Sanskrit and means literally 'teacher door'. I suppose if you open the door of a gurdwara, the teaching will begin...

Answer: 7

While seven is a neutral pH, an acidic substance would register at around three or below, while an alkaline substance would typically register at nine or above. pH stands for 'potential for hydrogen' or 'power of hydrogen'.

Answer: Patrick Stewart

Patrick Stewart's one-man version of 'A Christmas Carol' was a wonder to behold. He took it on the road across the United States on several occasions. His screen version of Scrooge was equally wonderful, as were the supporting performances by Joel Grey and Richard Grant.

Answer: Kendo

'Kendo' literally means 'the way of the sword' in Japanese. Mastering this martial art is quite well worth it, though the process can be rather painful!

Answer: Michael Palin

Michael Palin was the youngest of the Pythons, born on May 5th, 1943. Aside from his starring role in the television show and the three feature films starring the Pythons, Palin was also featured in films such as 'A Fish Called Wanda', 'Time Bandits' and 'Fierce Creatures'.

Answer: Vietnamese

Like in Hawaiian, where 'aloha' is useful for both greetings and partings, the Vietnamese have 'chao'. It is not proper to simply say 'chao', however. You must add a personal pronoun or a person's name following the utterance of 'chao'! Thank you for having tried this quiz...if you enjoyed it, you are welcome to try my other stuff online here at Funtrivia.